Fragments
by Caligo Origuu
Summary: Plot bunnies and fragments that demanded to be written, mostly involving the Doctor and Viera. Unconnected one-shots, may contain many genres.


_Setting: The Doctor and Viera, at some indeterminate point in their travels together (in a reality where they are a couple) are kidnapped and left without the TARDIS or any other companions in a complete plain, completely empty room. There are no vents or windows, just one ordinary-looking door. It isn't locked, but while it seems likely that it's all a trap, of course they're going to try the door anyways…_

"Well, once more into the breach," the Doctor declared. Viera took his offered hand and they shared a grin. He took a deep, bracing breath and opened the door to peer out. He went absolutely pale and slammed the door shut before Viera could see a thing.

"What's wrong?" she asked worriedly, laying her free hand on his arm as he leaned against the door. She hadn't seen him so shaken in a very long while. Whatever was behind that door must be bad. "What is it?"

"It's me." He replied so quietly that she was almost certain she heard him wrong. Because, seriously, _what?_

"What?"

"It's me," the Doctor repeated with a groan. "Old versions of me. Prior incarnations."

All right, that was a bit strange, but hardly the weirdest thing to happen, even in the last month. Viera took a moment to wrap her head around the idea then tried to puzzle out why that was so disconcerting for the Doctor. "Is the universe going to explode?"

He frowned at her, though she didn't think the irritation was actually aimed her way. "No. We can sustain the paradox."

"Okay… but you don't look very happy to see… yourself."

The Doctor gave a long suffering sigh and grumbled. "Did you ever have your family show off embarrassing old photos of you? It's like that, except mine are in living, breathing Technicolor."

A slow grin crept across her face. "It can't be that bad."

"Let's just say I didn't always have my good fashion sense," the Doctor stated, straightening his jacket. "Besides, there's always some universe-ending problem when someone has enough power to mess with the laws of time and space this way. _And_ we don't always get along when we're in the same room."

"This has happened before?"

"A time or two. I suppose we should get this over with," he sighed, turning to eye the door with trepidation.

Viera shifted, unaccountably nervous to be faced with the men that the Doctor used to be. _And what a strange sentence that is._ "Wait, is it safe for them to see me? I mean, you didn't recognize me at all when we met, did you?"

"Naw, but I don't remember any of this. In all likelihood I made myself forget this in every incarnation involved. I'll have a massive headache later when the memories come back, if they come back, but we don't have to worry so much about ruining the time continuum." The Doctor winced. "That said, none of them know about the war or the loss of Gallifrey except tall, dark and brooding, so don't say anything, 'kay?"

Viera nodded readily. That was hardly something she was likely to bring up anyways, but it was good to know. She'd hate to be the one to let _that_ cat out of the bag accidently.

He looked more uncomfortable instead of reassured. "Ah, and we probably shouldn't- er, act too… well… involved."

"You don't want them to know we're a couple."

The Doctor flinched despite her even tone. "It's just that they don't know you or the aging thing or that you don't have family pulling you back to Earth or that you don't mind staying on the TARDIS maybe forever and there _will_ be lectures-"

Viera held up her hands in surrender at the deluge of explanation. "All right, all right. I get it. You're not ashamed of me; you just don't want to have to defend our relationship to them."

He sighed in relief, then a mischievous smirk stole across his face. "Mind you, it'd be almost worth the lectures to see the looks on their faces if I snogged you in front of them."

Viera shook her head, unable to wrestle her amused grin into a proper look of exasperation. "Come on then, Doctor-mine. Introduce me to your past."


End file.
